*'''PRO: [[Argument: Occupy protesters have common message to right capitalism| Occupy protesters have common message to right capitalism]]''' [http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/10/occupy-protests "Cross continents." The Economist. Oct 17th 2011]:[[Image:Occupy Wall Street.jpg|right|180px]]"they do share a common demand: someone, somewhere, should do something to right the problems of global capitalism as currently constituted. One reason why these protests are so interesting is that their targets, those cheerleaders for globalisation, capitalism and free markets, tend to agree that the system needs fixing. This makes the 'occupy' protests, as they have come to be known in the English-speaking world, hard to argue against."

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*'''PRO: UN recognition would force final negotiations of two-state solution.''' [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mj-rosenberg/obama-should-support-pale_b_906934.html MJ Rosenberg. "Obama Should Support Palestinian Statehood at the United Nations." Huffington Post. July 22nd, 2011]: "Recognition of the State of Palestine by the United Nations would be a first step on the road toward successful negotiations which must follow UN action. After all, no UN action can force Israel to end the occupation of the West Bank. The army and the settlers will still be there, UN or no UN. That is why the Palestinian leadership says that one of the first things the new State of Palestine would do will be to ask Israel to commence negotiations over borders, security arrangements, refugees, Holy Places, etc. The only difference UN recognition would make is that it would be near impossible for Netanyahu to say 'no' after the United Nations had, in effect, declared that it was occupying not some vague entity but another people's state."

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*'''CON: Occupy protests lack common/coherent message.''' [http://www.studlife.com/forum/staff-editorials/2011/10/17/occupy-protests-need-to-focus-on-coherent-demands/ "Occupy protests need to focus on coherent demands." Student Life Staff Editorial. October 17th, 2011]: "The protests have been linked and compared to the tea party movement, due to their similar grassroots nature and extreme ideological stances. However, the tea party does have a centralized message, which the “Occupy” protests lack.[[Image:Occupy Protest 2.jpg|right|180px]] The tea party is about reducing taxes and cutting spending to make government smaller. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the tea party’s stances, it is possible to know what the entire group and all of its smaller subsidiaries are about. We believe the “Occupy” protests need to do the same thing. Define and convey their message correctly, and stick to reasonable demands that resonate with the rest of the American public. Most of the country has been seriously hurt by the financial crisis, and most of the American public wants to focus on creating a more equal and fair country. There is a lot of room for the “Occupy” protests to grow, but without a consistent message, most Americans will be turned off."

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*'''CON: Palestinian UN statehood push undermines bilateral talks.''' [http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63607.html John Barrasso. "Block Palestinians' end run at U.N." Politico. September 15th, 2011]: "The best path to a true and lasting peace is through direct negotiations between the two parties — not through manipulations at the U.N. The consequences to the peace process are grave. The ability to move forward with an agreement is greatly diminished by these tactics. Instead of embarking on a time-consuming campaign to gain support in the U.N., the Palestinian leadership should be working directly with Israel on creating a real and sustainable peace agreement. The U.N. must refrain from intervening on issues that are part of the direct negotiations by the parties. The decision about borders and statehood should be achieved through a final agreement between Israel and the Palestinians."

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:US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said on NPR on September 22nd, 2011: "If it accelerated the negotiations, we would say yes. The reality is quite the opposite. The process that must occur will be that much more complicated in the wake of this kind of one-sided action."[http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/09/22/140712053/ambassador-rice-palestinian-bid-is-unwise-and-counterproductive]

*'''[[Climate change and clean energy portal]]''' Probably one of Debatepedia's best resources, this portal is always timely.

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*'''[[Debate: Constitutionality of US health insurance mandates]]''' The Obama Administration and others are pushing for a final ruling from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's mandate that Americans [with some exceptions] buy private health insurance.[[Image:Newstand.jpg|right|200px]]

*'''[[Debate: UN recognition of Palestinian statehood]]''' is front and center in international news, as the Palestinian Authority pursues a high-profile UN vote in favor of statehood. A majority of UN member states appear to support their push. Yet, the US has promised to veto the move in the Security Council in support of its ally Israel.

*'''[[Debate: UN recognition of Palestinian statehood]]''' is front and center in international news, as the Palestinian Authority pursues a high-profile UN vote in favor of statehood. A majority of UN member states appear to support their push. Yet, the US has promised to veto the move in the Security Council in support of its ally Israel.

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*'''[[Debate: American Jobs Act]]''' US President Obama submitted the American Jobs Act to Congress at a critical time in the nation's economic history. Debatepedia looks at the bill and the arguments from its supporters and detractors. [[Image:Newstand.jpg|right|200px]]

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*'''[[Debate: American Jobs Act]]''' US President Obama submitted the American Jobs Act to Congress at a critical time in the nation's economic history. Debatepedia looks at the bill and the arguments from its supporters and detractors.

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*'''[[Debate: Does Obama deserve a second term?]]''' An unfinished article outlining the ongoing debate about Obama's merits in the 2012 election.

*'''[[Debate: Boy Scouts of America ban on gay membership]]''' doesn't have any content, but has gotten some news recently, as Texas Governor Rick Perry, and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination was part of the Boy Scouts and supported their move to ban gay membership.

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*'''[[Debate: The New Deal| New Deal]] created historic public works and infrastructure.''' [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/history_lesson/2011/10/new_deal_accomplishments_do_conservatives_who_attack_the_new_dea.html Michael Hiltzik. "What the new deal accomplished." Slate. Oct 13th, 2011]:[[Image:Person typing.gif|right|190px]] "The New Deal physically reshaped the country. To this day, Americans still rely on its works for transportation, electricity, flood control, housing, and community amenities. The output of one agency alone, the Works Progress Administration, represents a magnificent bequest to later generations. The WPA produced, among many other projects, 1,000 miles of new and rebuilt airport runways, 651,000 miles of highway, 124,000 bridges, 8,000 parks, and 18,000 playgrounds and athletic fields; some 84,000 miles of drainage pipes, 69,000 highway light standards, and 125,000 public buildings built, rebuilt, or expanded. Among the latter were 41,300 schools. The transformative power of this effort is inestimable."

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*'''[[Debate: Voter identification cards]]''' has been hot in the news recently with multiple American states now requiring voter IDs. If you're interested, consider building up Debatepedia's article on the topi.

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*'''[[Debate: Does Obama deserve a second term?]]''' is up next for the Debate Digest.

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"they do share a common demand: someone, somewhere, should do something to right the problems of global capitalism as currently constituted. One reason why these protests are so interesting is that their targets, those cheerleaders for globalisation, capitalism and free markets, tend to agree that the system needs fixing. This makes the 'occupy' protests, as they have come to be known in the English-speaking world, hard to argue against."

The tea party is about reducing taxes and cutting spending to make government smaller. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the tea party’s stances, it is possible to know what the entire group and all of its smaller subsidiaries are about. We believe the “Occupy” protests need to do the same thing. Define and convey their message correctly, and stick to reasonable demands that resonate with the rest of the American public. Most of the country has been seriously hurt by the financial crisis, and most of the American public wants to focus on creating a more equal and fair country. There is a lot of room for the “Occupy” protests to grow, but without a consistent message, most Americans will be turned off."

Debate: UN recognition of Palestinian statehood is front and center in international news, as the Palestinian Authority pursues a high-profile UN vote in favor of statehood. A majority of UN member states appear to support their push. Yet, the US has promised to veto the move in the Security Council in support of its ally Israel.

Debate: American Jobs Act US President Obama submitted the American Jobs Act to Congress at a critical time in the nation's economic history. Debatepedia looks at the bill and the arguments from its supporters and detractors.

"The New Deal physically reshaped the country. To this day, Americans still rely on its works for transportation, electricity, flood control, housing, and community amenities. The output of one agency alone, the Works Progress Administration, represents a magnificent bequest to later generations. The WPA produced, among many other projects, 1,000 miles of new and rebuilt airport runways, 651,000 miles of highway, 124,000 bridges, 8,000 parks, and 18,000 playgrounds and athletic fields; some 84,000 miles of drainage pipes, 69,000 highway light standards, and 125,000 public buildings built, rebuilt, or expanded. Among the latter were 41,300 schools. The transformative power of this effort is inestimable."